Aluminum Sand Castings versus Aluminum Die Casting

We can convert your Aluminum sand cast part into a die casting aluminum part. Here is an example: Jerry gave me a sample aluminum sand casting he uses for his product.
He is proud of his product and wants to keep the quality level high. He wanted me to quote his product as a possible die casting part.

Jerry buys the aluminum sand casting for $21 each part and puts about $11 of machining into each aluminum casting part. That is a total cost of $32 for his sand cast aluminum part.
Tooling for Jerry's aluminum sand casting costs him $1,500 for the pattern and the tool life, which Jerry said is 5,000 parts.

A comparison aluminum die cast price is $8.20 each part, and estimated machining savings of $3.00 each part for an aluminum die casted part.
Total part cost is $8.20 plus the remaining $8.00 in machining for a total part cost of $16.20 each part as an aluminum diecasting. The machining required for his aluminum sand
casting that could be accomplished in the aluminum die casting process: 10 holes drilled and the top and bottom surfaces milled flat. Die cast tooling inserts for Jerry's part costs
$22,000 and typical die cast tool life is over 100,000 aluminum die casting parts and sometimes as many as 1,000,000 die casting parts if the tolerances remain similar to the sand
casting tolerances.

Aluminum sand cast tooling costs from $500 to $7,500 depending on size and complexity of the aluminum casting part life is 5,000 parts.
Aluminum die casting tooling costs from $5,000 to $75,000 depending on size and
complexity of the aluminum die cast part. However, tooling insert life is 100,000 parts and can be as much as 1,000,000 high pressure die casting parts.

What is the cost difference?

Quantity

Sand Casting

Die Casting

Better Choice

1,000 parts
Tool Cost

Total Cost

$ 32,000
$ 1,500
-----------
$ 33,500

$ 16,200
$ 22,000
-----------
$ 38,200

Sand Casting$4,700 savings

5,000 parts
Tool Cost

Total Cost

$ 160,000
$ 1,500
-----------
$ 161,500

$ 81,000
$ 22,000
-----------
$ 103,000

Die Casting$ 58,500 savings

10,000 parts
Tool Cost

Total Cost

$ 320,000
$ 3,000
-----------
$ 323,000

$ 162,000
$ 22,000
-----------
$ 184,000

Die Casting$139,000 savings

50,000 parts
Tool Cost

Total Cost

$ 1,600,000
$ 15,000 *
-------------
$ 1,615,000

* needs 10 tools

$ 810,000
$ 22,000
-----------
$ 832,000

Die Casting$783,000 savings

Break-Even Point
The break-even point from aluminum sand casting to aluminum die casting varies from a few hundred to a few thousand parts. This cost is determined by the
cost of tooling and the amount of machining required from the aluminum sand casting process that is not required as a aluminum die casting because of the tighter
tolerances of the aluminum die cast process in making parts. In Jerrys product cost, the break even point is between 1,000 to 1,500 aluminum parts. After Jerry
purchases 1,298 parts as an aluminum diecasting, he will make and additional $15.80 profit each aluminum high pressure die casting part he sells. If he buys 1,000
parts a year his savings is $15,800 a year. He will save $79,000 over the next five (5) years if he buys only 1,000 aluminum high pressure die casting parts each year.

Sand Casting Companies

There are times when an aluminum sand casting is a better option than an aluminum die casting. When that is the case, we suggest you choose one of the following sand casting companies listed here:

Available spot for good sand casting company (for exchange) - contact us